Perfectly Imperfect
by D3c0d3x
Summary: Interesting story set three-ish years after the last episode. Lots of loose ends, but LoVe centric! AUish. A oneshot of a stakeout gone awry.


**A/N: This storyline would not get out of my head! I know it's not nearly according to the series but it just keep nagging me.**

_Ring Ring_

Logan fumbled around the side dresser trying to locate his phone. This was it. He knew it, could feel it in his bones. This was the call he dreaded every time she went out on a case…

Veronica didn't last long as an FBI agent. Too many rules, she insisted. She liked doing things her way, liked being in charge. She realized this the first two weeks of her internship. They begged her to stay on, they knew the promise she held, but she refused.

Three years later, with Logan's help, she opened her very own branch of Mars Investigations. She hadn't talked to her father in three years, something that haunted her daily.

Keith continued seeing Harmony, something Veronica couldn't deal with. No one could hold a candle to her dad, she loved him so much. But, being involved with a married woman shattered his image in Veronica's eyes.

After Logan beat Gory in the Hearst cafeteria, Veronica knew. Veronica and Piz broke up over lunch, and she was at Logan's for dinner. After that, it was easy.

He helped her pack her things while her dad was away and she moved in with him. Veronica left her dad a note, telling him of her plans, and asking him to call her when he got back.

He never called. Keith turned up at the Grande the night he got back in town. Logan and Veronica had already relocated to an apartment that allowed pets, since Veronica refused to part with Back Up.

They finally met for lunch, she told him of her plans to not continue in the FBI internship, and he was furious.

_The walk into the restaurant was awkward. Veronica was unsure of the protocol of meeting your adulterer father after moving in with your on again off again boyfriend without telling him first. She spotted him at a table in the back and slid in across from him. _

_She had trouble meeting his eyes for the first few minutes. _

"_Hi, dad," she said hesitantly after placing her order._

"_Veronica," he said slightly pained._

"_I didn't do this to hurt you," she offered quickly._

"_Just come home, we can figure this out."_

"_Did you have Harmony over last night? Are you meeting her again tonight?" she asked harshly, finally meeting his eyes._

"_What I do is my business, Veronica."_

"_I don't understand how you can do this, dad," she said, angry that her voice wasn't stronger. "Mom cheated on you and you know how that made you feel… now you're making some other man feel the same way. Can you not see how wrong this is?"_

"_Harmony is in a loveless marriage, Veronica! It's different. You just don't understand."_

"_Don't you think mom probably felt the same way?"_

_He looked at her curiously for a moment before changing the subject. _

"_How is your internship?"_

_She sighed. She really didn't understand how he could carry on with Harmony after making a living catching people who did the exact same thing._

"_I put in my two week notice the second day. I'm done on Friday."_

"_What!" he said furiously._

"_It's not for me," she said with a nonchalant hand gesture._

"_How can you just throw this away, Veronica? This is the opportunity of a lifetime, you're finishing out the summer. Call them and tell them you had a moment of insanity!" he insisted._

"_No! It's not what I want to do, dad," she said, equally as stubborn and getting increasingly angry._

"_It's Logan isn't it? You're going to rely on him now aren't you? Just lounge around in your shared apartment all day, not working, not doing anything…"_

_Veronica stared at him, gaping. Keith, of course, didn't mean anything he was saying. He just couldn't understand how his daughter, his bright, keen, wry, daughter could throw away something as amazing as a nearly free pass to the FBI. _

"_I can't believe you said that…," she said, truly shocked._

_Keith had the grace to look sheepish. "What are you going to do when he decides he's had enough of you? Huh, Veronica? When you two just aren't working anymore, how do you expect to live?"_

_She stood up, shrugging on her coat, tears in her eyes. "What are you going to say next, dad?" she said, sneering the word. "That I'm just like mom, too? You do know how to poke so it hurts the most, don't you."_

_She left without looking back, tears rolling down her face. _

_She drove to her house, distraught over the argument with her dad, furious at the things she didn't say, and broken over the things he did say. _

_Logan found her crying at their kitchen table a few hours later. She explained what happened, what her dad said, told him she was worried too. He surprised her by dropping to one knee and pulling out a small velvet box. _

_It wasn't anywhere near normal. It wasn't expected. But it was perfect, it was Veronica and Logan. She obviously said yes and they drove to the courthouse together the next day. _

_She ignored Keith's calls for a few days, and when she finally called her house to apologize for leaving the restaurant and to tell him the real reason she left the internship, Harmony answered. She hung up before saying a word._

Logan finally located the ringing phone, his heart in his stomach. "Hello?" he said frantic.

"May I please speak with Logan Echolls?" came a cold practiced voice.

"This is he," he stated quickly, looking at the clock; 4:45am, not good, he thought.

"Hello sir, I'm afraid I'm calling from Neptune General Hospital, Veronica Echolls just came in through the emergency room…"

Logan stopped listening. His heart began racing and he sucked air into his lungs as he sprang from the bed, pulling on clothes. He told the nurse he was on his way and hung up before hearing anything else. He couldn't hear someone tell him over the phone she was dead. He couldn't stand it.

He flew to the hospital, when he pulled up to the valet, he couldn't even remember driving there. He left his keys in the car and ran in.

He tracked down a nurse and demanded he know what happened. The nurse tried to lead him to a chair, noticing his disheveled state, but he wouldn't have it.

"Tell me what happened, damnit!" he shouted, running his hand through his hair, tears pooling in his eyes.

"She's going to be alright, sir," she said quickly to ease his fears.

He let out a sigh and sank into the chair behind him.

"All I can tell you is she was shot in the shoulder and is in surgery now, she should be out in an hour. You'll be able to talk to her shortly after that."

He thanked her for the information, and apologized for his behavior. One thing Logan Echolls did in the last three years was mature an awful lot.

It was necessary, but he was thrilled to do it.

He thought back to the night he proposed to Veronica. She said yes right away, but later on, while they were lying in bed, she started to question. She wondered how long he had the ring, and if he were only proposing because of what she told him days earlier.

He told her the truth; he had the ring since before she started dating Piz. He had wanted to propose to her for a long time before he actually did.

He ran his hands over his face, knowing he had to call Keith. He scrolled through his phone, hovering over his name before hitting send.

Keith answered the phone without looking at the ID. He was used to around the clock calls about bail jumpers and the like.

"Hello?" he said sleepily.

"Mr. Mars, it's Logan."

Keith's heart dropped. There was only one reason his daughters boyfriend would be calling him at 5:30 in the morning.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"I'm at Neptune General, Veronica's going to be alright, but she was shot in the shoulder. She's in surgery now, that's all I know, but I thought you should know…," he paused, waiting for any kind of response. He was almost sure it was a mistake calling, until Keith finally answered.

"I'm leaving right now," he said, his voice breaking.

Logan gave him directions to the waiting room and quickly hung up. He called Isabel next, explaining the situation and why she heard him rush out of the house. Isabel had been with them for two and a half years now.

After they got married, they bought a house in the hills, not overly huge to Logan, but Veronica called it a mansion. They decided they would need help, and hired Isabel. She was a Spanish woman in her early forties and they both loved her dearly.

After convincing her not to run down to the hospital he hung up and waited, tapping his foot.

Keith burst through the elevator doors, frantically looking for Logan. Logan stood up and called to him.

They awkwardly shook hands and spoke in hushed tones to match the quiet, even though the waiting room was empty.

"I haven't heard anything yet, I'm going to go ask," Logan said checking his watch.

Keith nodded and watched as Logan walked off. He couldn't help but notice the young man had grown up a lot in the last three years. Being a PI, nothing escaped his notice, and the small gold band Logan wore on his left hand that glinted in the light when he walked looked like a thirty ton piece of jewelry in Keith's eyes.

Keith sank back in his chair, angry with himself that he hadn't checked up on them. He should have been at the wedding; he should have walked her down the aisle. He assumed they didn't have a large wedding, at least not in Neptune because he certainly would have heard about it. He was surprised he didn't hear about it on the news, surely Logan Echolls getting married was news worthy to the people of Neptune.

Logan came back with a tight smile on his face.

"She's out of surgery, in recovery now. The doctor said everything went fine and we can see her in an hour or so," Logan said relieved.

Keith nodded, unable to find words at the moment. Logan sat down in a chair across from him and tilted his head back against the wall. It took all his self control not to barge through the doors that said 'do not enter' to track down his wife. He was desperate to see her with his own two eyes, and only then would he know she was really alright.

Keith cleared his throat and Logan looked at him. "Am I your father-in-law?" he asked with a small smile.

Logan looked at his hand and nodded. "She misses you every day," he said softly.

Keith swallowed hard. "As do I… I can't believe we've let it come to this…," he said, trailing off.

"It's never too late," Logan said wisely. Keith nodded briefly, sizing up the man before him once again. There was something different about Logan, a maturity that just age doesn't bring.

Thirty minutes later Logan began pacing the waiting room. He couldn't sit still any longer. Keith was still sitting, having years of stake out waiting under his belt, he wasn't about to burst quite yet.

The hospital was beginning to wake up, people started using the elevators and Keith was people watching to take his mind off of the waiting.

Logan was on his hundredth trip away from the elevators when they slid open and a Keith noticed a dark haired Spanish woman with a small child step out. He marveled at the little girl, noting her large eyes and sleep tousled blonde hair. Veronica's hair was the exact same color when she was little.

"Daddy!" the small girl called as she ran past Keith.

Logan spun around, catching the girl as she launched herself at him. Keith noticed his face softening as he smiled at the girl and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, honey," Logan said as he hugged her tight and smoothed her hair down automatically.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Isabel who looked at Logan sheepishly.

"She got up early, and I thought we should be here… I love Veronica too, you know!" she said with authority.

Logan chuckled and threw his arm around Isabel in a side hug. "I know, she's out of surgery… should be able to see her in a little bit," he added.

Logan took a deep breath and turned to Keith who was sitting stock still and completely pale.

"You weren't supposed to find out this way," he said softly shifting the girl to his other arm effortlessly.

"Keith, meet Taylor... your granddaughter."

Keith's breath left him in a rush. He had a granddaughter. Tears pooled in his eyes as Logan sat down beside him.

"I should be surprised… but I'm not," he said finally. "She's beautiful, Logan."

Logan laughed and agreed. He handed Taylor off to Isabel who sat across from Keith as a nurse approached calling his name.

"Mr. Echolls? Veronica is awake and she's asking for you."

Logan nodded and quickly followed her to Veronica's room.

"Hey stud," Veronica said as Logan walked in the room. He made his way to her and kissed her hard. She twined her hand through his hair, ecstatic she was alive.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips. She nodded, unable to speak at the moment.

"I was so scared," she croaked out, silently crying now.

"What happened, baby?" he asked.

"I was so stupid. It was just a stakeout, but I wanted to get closer… cue the angry cheating husband, with a gun, who thankfully happened to be a lousy shot. I just kept thinking that this was it. That'd I'd never see you again, never hold Taylor again…," she trailed off, crying harder now.

Logan perched on the edge of her bed, holding her to him and whispering soothing word while rubbing her back.

Keith looked in from the hallway. Feeling like an intruder on a private moment, but unable to look away. Being out of Veronica's life for so long may not have been the right thing, but holding his beautiful granddaughter in his arms he can't image it was a bad thing.

Looking in on Logan and Veronica he realized that they were closer than he ever thought possible. Coming from a broken marriage himself, and recently split from his long term girlfriend, hadn't cemented his faith in true, everlasting love. But watching the young couple from the hallway his faith was restored.

Veronica and Logan were for keeps. Nothing and no one would ever come between the two, and he was ready to be a part of their lives, however he fit.

With this new attitude he pushed open the door, Taylor on his hip and Isabel trailing slightly behind.

Veronica's eyes widened as she saw her father holding her daughter. Keith smiled and shrugged his shoulders in a gesture that said nothing but meant everything. "Who's your daddy?" he said tearing up as Veronica laughed through her tears.

**A/N: I don't think I'd qualify this as my best work… I don't like the circumstances very well, because it's so AU for Veronica and Keith. But I've had the image of the little blonde girl running into Logan's arms and Keith finding out at that moment that he had a granddaughter for a while, so I finally built a semi-plausible story to fit it. Let me know what you think… Reviews are welcomed and appreciated! =]**


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